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Jump to navigationJump to searchThe Mystery of the Clockwork Sparrow by Katherine Woodfine (view source)
Revision as of 08:13, 4 August 2015
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This entrancing Edwardian mystery is set in the exotic, sensuous and opulent world of a Department store which draws the reader in with enticing sights, sounds and smells from the start. When the heroine Sophie first steps on to the shop floor she feels like she is "stepping inside a chocolate box". Furthermore there is also something sacred about the experience- "Now, a reverent hush hung in the air, and she found herself almost tiptoeing…gazing around her at the immense chandeliers, the glittering looking-glasses, the glossy walnut panelling. It smelled luscious: no sawdust now, but a glorious fragrance of cocoa and candied violets and some other spicy scent, like the cigars that Papa used to smoke after dinner."
Writing of this calibre not only evokes Sophie's childhood memories but makes the reader long to experience the luxuriousness of somewhere like Sinclair's, an opportunity somewhat lost in the modern reality of recession and online shopping. Woodfine's portrait of a decadent, sumptuous retail emporium, at the heart of Piccadilly, is based on established names like Harrods, Fortnum & Masons and Liberty (although these were not founded in the Edwardian era) so she has primarily drawn inspiration from the story of Harry Gordon Selfridge, the flashy, charismatic American entrepreneur who launched his cathedral to elegance in London in 1909. There are also shades of Emile Zola's ''Au Bonheur des Dames'', televised as ''The Paradise''.
